Means foe controi



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. BEE, OF IVAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING FEED-WATER APPARATUS 0F STEAM-BOILERS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,324, dated July 15, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. Brin, of Vareham, in the co-unty ofPlymouth and St-ate of Massachusetts, have invented a new and improvedmethod of regulating the supply of water to steam-boilers and alsoannouncing the sufficiency and consequent safety thereof; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact description ofthesame, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecilication in which- Figure l is a plan view of the principalmachine; Fig. 2, a longitudinal elevation of the same with itsconnections; Figs. 3, 4 and 5, details of parts which will be describedhereafter.

The nature of this invention consists first in controlling the feedwater apparatus of steam boilers by the operation of a float within theboiler, which being lifted from the surface of the water and let fallagain, determines the height of water in the boiler-; this process beingrepeated at short intervals by suitable machinery, becomes the means ofstarting the pump or feeder when the boiler needs replenishing, andstopping the same, whenever the water attains its proper height.

Secondly, theory as well as practice will show that the forceaccumulated in the float by falling will cause it to sink deeper` intothe water than it would naturally floatand it will immediately rebound.This re bound of the float is taken advantage of, to

give a signal which is an unerring indication not only of a sufficiencyof water in the boiler, but also of the perfect condition of the machineitself-the force pump or feeder-the source of water, and indeed everypart of the water arrangement.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, Fig. 2, is a float consisting of a thin metallic vessel entirely openat the bottom, and divided into a number of hermetically tightcompartments as shown at A, Fig. 3 that it may float steadily upon thewater.

V is a weight attached to the float to cause it to fall with therequisite force.

c, c, c, and a, a, are a combination of leading wires and leversconnecting the float with the lifting lever E, the wire passing throughthe shell of the boiler, being made steam tight by a stuffing box, inthe usual manner.

E, is the lifting lever to which is attached the segment F turning uponthe fulcrum 0, and gearing into the spur wheel Gr. The shaft of thiswheel extends through its sleeves to the other side of the frame, whereis attached the counterbalance L.

C, is the main wheel driven by the pinion D. Upon the back of this wheelis placed the lifting stud Z, which as the wheel re- :volves takes uponthe lifting lever at e, thus causing E to descend and by its connectionslifting the float from the surface of the water-at the same time windinup the counterbalance in the direction of t e arrow. When the stud Z,has passed'its position as shown in the drawings, it leaves e. The floatnow descends taking with it the lever E. The counter-balance L alsodescends and in falling acquires a sufficient force to carry it past theline of gravity and is ready in its return to assist the rebound of thefloat rwithout detracting from its falling force. AI would here statethat theA object of the counterbalanceis not to produce the rebound butshould be so adjusted as to compensate for the friction and inertia ofthe moving parts of the connection between the float and lifting leverthus preserving the rebound which produces the signal unimpaired. Thedevices which I have adopted for giving the signal is'as follows.

I-I is a frame supported by, and swinging upon the fulcrum o. This framecarries the rack and pinion R; and upon the opposite end of the pinionarbor is attached the hammer d. i

o is a piece made adjustable upon they shank of the rack with ratchetteeth upon its face. A spring catch e, is so attached to the liftinglever as when the float descends to pass in contact with the ratchetteeth; but as float and lever rebound, this spring engages those teethcausing the rack to descendthe same causing the pinion to revolve, andthe hammer to give its blow upon the bell b. It will be seen onexamination that this catch and ratchet must be disengaged previous tothe contact of the lifting stud e, with the lever at e, as that wouldresult in the destruction of some of the parts. This is eected by thepart of the bellframe 7L, extending to, and embracing the cam o upon themain wheel shaft. This cam is of such form and so placed upon the shaftas to cause the frame H, to approach ilo the lifting lever just previousto the falling of the float and to recede just previous to the contactof the lifting stud Z, with e.

The manner in which this machine starts and stops the pump or feeder isthis--W is a shaft working in bearings, fn, a, placed at an appropriatedistance from the main wheel, &c., and carrying the shifting dogs M andthe changing or reversing cam I.

s is the shifting stud placed on the front of the main wheel which as itrevolves may come in contact with the dogs M. i

S and T are studs or blocks placed upon the segment F, S beingstationary and T adj ustable by means of a set screw. Now when the leverE is depressed in raising the float, S comes in contact with I andrestores the shaft and its fixtures to the position as shown in thedrawings. Now if the water is sufficiently high in the boiler so thatthe float in its fall does not cause the stud T to disturb I, the shaftwill remain in that position and as the shifting stud s revolves it willengage the lower dog of M, thus causthe shaft IV to slide through itsbearings, taking with it the shifting lever t, which acting upon theshifting bar y, will cause the belt to run upon the loose pully m andthe pump or feeder will stop. If however when the float fell, there wasa deficiency of water, according to the adjustment of T, then I will bedepressed and the stud s, will engage only with the upper dog of M andthe pump, &c., if stopped will be started by a counter process-and if itbe already in operation will continue so. It will be seen that byvarying the position of the stud T, the height of water in the boilerwill be varied; the lower the situation of the stud upon F, the higherthe water will be carried in the boiler and vice versa. The object ofthe lever N is to render the changes of I prompt and decisive as in theevent of T not falling sufliciently far to produce the whole change.Immediately after the ioat has fallen the stud s strikes the lever Ncausing its lmife edge to rise and engage the knife edge projection ofz' upon I and as it takes upon either side, decides which of the dogs ofM shall be presented to the stud s.

In case of the application of this invention to marine boilers themotionof the vessels might cause an unsteadiness in the operation of thefloat. To obviate this a vessel U, F ig. Q, is placed centrally in theboiler, said vessel being provided with holes to allow the passage ofwater to and fro, of

such a size as to restrain the water within, from following theundulations without, thus causing the water in the vessel U to stand atan average height. Into this vessel the float is allowed to fall bywhich means a steady feed is obtained. The vessel U is not necessary instationary or locomotive boilers. To put this invention in operationplace the principal machine in any part of the establishment convenientto the pump or feeder, and the motive power and also where the signalmay be heard by the engine and as many other persons about theestablishment as possible, who thus become monitors of their own safetyand that of all concerned. Connect the float A with the lifting lever Eby wires and levers varying according to the distance and the angles tobe turned. The wires should be so adjusted in length as to lift thefioat about 8 inches from the surface of the water where the boiler willadmit of it. Apply the belt to the pulley P from some constant mover ofsuch a speed as to cause the main wheel C to make about two revolutionsper minute and in the direction of the arrow. The other parts of theoperation are readily inferred from the foregoing description.

I do not claim the employment of a float in any of the ordinary methodsfor regulat ing the height of water in steam boilers, but

What I do claim and wish to secure by Letters Patent is- Controlling thefeed water apparatus of steam boilers by the float A and theintermediate means or their equivalents between it and the feedapparatus and connected with the counterbalance L, or not the partsbeing arranged and operated substantially as herein set forth.

BENJAMIN F. BEE. l/Vitnesses ALoNso WARREN, ELIJAH DAMON, J r.

